User Reviews

Strengths: Fat knobs, okay climbing, puncture resistant, sort of light weight, great for sand, and decent cornering. I don't get too much opportunity for mud, but it seems like it can handle it.

Weaknesses: For some reason I didn't see this weakness in other reviews: cut-up tread. After only a couple hundred miles, my knobs are sliced up. This is very rare for me because I am a particularly light rider and ride only occasionally on sharp rocks. Also, the rolling resistance is pretty bad and the MSRP seems pretty steep.

Bottom Line:

I ride this as a rear; it seems that others prefer it as a front. For a front tire, I would go for the specialized chunder, if you can get your hands on one (chunder is the thunder). I have been using all sorts of tires lately, and this michelin does not particularly stand out (except for the coloring). If you only ride soft sand, maybe this is the tire for you, but it does not like hard, sharp rocks. I'll have to compare to my new set of tires I just won at a race: Maxxis high rollers and Larsen TT.

Strengths: Very Strong thread compound, Grey/Black color combo is wicked!, These Tires Have not let me down... They grip high speed cornering on every surface I have ridden (gravel,asphault,mud,rocks,roots,granite,).. you name it! they dig in just right!! when you mash the pedals!

Weaknesses: Sidewalls seem a little weak being Kevlar composite... i see small cracks on side close into where thread is,,,,,

Bottom Line:

For two years now Ive ridden & abused them.
They Still Look Great, almost new! But I think I will admit,,, I took a little long to break these in...maybe it was the Very Stiff Thread compound... They feel MUCH better now (or maybe I just got used to them).
They never failed me... not 1 flat ... I feel confident taking any turn anywhere... (Not in sand though)

Submitted by
Kchap311
a Cross Country Rider
from Steamboat Springs,Colorado

Date Reviewed: March 17, 2009

Strengths: Holds air and so stiff you can run low PSI (like stiff enough i was riding 20psi in the rear and could barely tell.

Weaknesses: The compound is too hard, no grip on climbs that have mud/roots/dry dust/rocks

Bottom Line:

These tires were super cheap online, and as they say "you get what you pay for". These tires couldn't hook up on a singles cruise. They stink, not confidence inspiring whatsoever. They do not maintain good contact when climbing steeps and i could not wait to get them off of my bike. I think i was spoiled from riding the Ritchey Z-max tires. Maybe Michelin should stick to car tires.

Strengths: Great tread, huge knobs, even on the sidewalls. Makes for theoreticaly great cornering. I was all prepared to really love these tires. In our part of the country, bike trails are rocky limestone, sometimes sharp and serrated from erosion. The trails can get pretty technical and when they're not rocky they can get muddy, so I thought the tremendous knobs on these tires would get me a good grip. Do doubt about it, the tread is great.

Weaknesses: But that's not all there is to the story. These tires suffer from horribly weak sidewalls. With our rocky trails, we do a lot of rubbing and grinding, going over boulders and such. After just a few moderate rides, these sidewalls looked like they had been through a war zone. Never had another tire wear so poorly on the side walls. Ironically, the tread is still fine, but I've got 3 separate sidewall holes where the fabric has actually been worn through. And while I had the expectation of great grip, the tires felt "doughy," so that when I cornered they often felt flat. Aother sympton of the weak sidewalls, I suspect.

I was looking for a high grip front tire for high speed cornering, most tires I tested would slide out. This tire is on the front and works great, never tried it on the rear. I think it offers a bit more grip then my all around favorite Conti Vertical. This comes at a small weight penalty compared to the conti. I will buy this tire again, if you are looking for a high grip cornering tire for aggressive cross country riding buy it. A little to much tire for general cross country.

Strengths: It very beefy and the knubs and treads are very large. These tires should be under ALL Mountain category not XC. Rode on them for 1 year with no visiable wear and tear. Pretty Durable

Weaknesses: VERY HIGH PROFILE for a XC tires?

Bottom Line:

I bought these at a great price for a pair thinking that these are XC specific tires, But man their are huge! My derailer kept toughing the tire because there are no clearance. The knobs are too huge for a 2.0 as stated on this tire? I rode on them for about a year because I was too lazy to replace them But the rubbing sound got too annoying. I'm replacing them with a true XC tire! If you're looking for a All Mountain tire that is good on dry conditions than these are OK. But for me I mostly ride the local fire trails so I don't need a All Mountain specific tire. I'm giving this a below average mark because it misrepresents the true size.

Weaknesses: Red... Ordered 25.x26 tubeless, Michelin could not give me tire dimensions.. Bought 2 very $$$$$$.. mounted the..(??????) "2.5x26"-(???????) these things are barely larger that my mid- 1990's grey 2.1 x 26 - Specilized.. they are WAAAAYYYY smaller than my 2.35 Negeval folding.. USELESS if you do anything but light XC.. they are sooooo smmmmmmaaaaallll, that any rocks will distroy your rim.. Can't believe they list them as a 2.5.. NOTHING on the tire is a big as the CASING on a 2.35 Negeval, and compared to a 2.5 N.. !!!!.. the tire is at least 15mm shorter from the rim to tread...!!!NO wonder they are listed as "fast", the tread is so tight they look like street tires.. and they are so small your gearing will be ALOT lower....UNBELIEVABLE.. They will be on Ebay in a few days...

Bottom Line:

I can't believe that Michelin would sell such crap.. it is TOTALY MISSREPRESENTED.. this is a "hard-packed" XC tire at best.. and for a light, short suspension bike with a light rider and NO rocks. or loose stuff.. DISGUSTED